If you’re serious about your barbecue side dishes, then get ready for some seriously delicious fun! These Best BBQ Baked Beans don’t mess around. They take a little extra love and care to make, but boy, oh boy, the sweet-and-savory dish they become is so worth it! Good things just don’t magically appear… sometimes it takes a little work to get there! But don’t worry; nothing too strenuous here! Plus, after one bite of the Best BQQ Baked Beans, you’ll realize all that waiting was totally worth it! So, go ahead! Enjoy them down to the last drop!
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried red beans
- 3 quarts cold water, plus more, to taste, for soaking the beans
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, boneless, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 cup barbecue sauce
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 6 slices thick-cut bacon
Directions
Step 1 –In a large bowl, add the beans and cover with the extra water, and let soak for at least 8 hours and up to overnight.
Step 2 –Drain the beans and transfer them to a large pot filled with 3 quarts of the water.
Step 3 –Add the bay leaf, the pork shoulder, and the onion to the beans and simmer over high heat.
Step 4 –Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, while stirring occasionally and skimming off the foam from the top, until the beans are just tender, about 1 hour.
Step 5 –Reserve 2 1/2 cups of the bean cooking liquid.
Step 6 –While the beans simmer, combine the barbecue sauce, the ketchup, the apple cider vinegar, the brown sugar, the molasses, the yellow mustard, the Worcestershire, the smoked paprika, the cayenne, the black pepper, the kosher salt, and the garlic powder in a bowl and whisk to combine.
Step 7 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 8 –Transfer the bean mixture to a deep, 15×10-inch baking dish using a spider strainer.
Step 9 –Pour the sauce mixture and the reserved bean cooking liquid over the bean mixture.
Step 10 –Place the bacon slices on top of the baked bean mixture.
Step 11 –Bake the baked beans until the liquids reduce to a thick sauce, about 2-3 hours.
Step 12 –Serve.
